Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP and minister who later found fame as a television personality on shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother, has died at the age of 78. Her death was announced on 10 July 2026.
Political Career and Ministerial Roles
Widdecombe served as the MP for Maidstone (later Maidstone and the Weald) from 1987 to 2010. She held junior ministerial posts in the Department of Social Security, the Department of Employment, and as prisons minister at the Home Office under Michael Howard. Despite her competence, she never reached the Cabinet, which she attributed partly to her appearance and outspoken nature. "If somebody wants to turn round and say, Widdecombe, you're overweight and you've got crooked teeth, I say: you're right, so what?" she told Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs in 1999.
Controversial Views and Brexit Party
Widdecombe was known for her strongly held conservative views. She opposed abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, was Eurosceptic, doubted climate change, and supported the reintroduction of the death penalty. She famously clashed with Michael Howard, telling the House of Commons he had "something of the night" about him. In 2019, she left the Conservatives to campaign for Nigel Farage's Brexit party, briefly serving as an MEP for the South West. She stood as the party's candidate in Plymouth at the 2019 general election, receiving only 5% of the vote.
Television Career and Public Persona
After retiring from the Commons in 2010, Widdecombe became a household name through television. She appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, lasting nine weeks with partner Anton Du Beke, and was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. She also performed in pantomime and at the Royal Opera House. "I loved the fact that there was no responsibility," she told the Guardian in 2013. "For years everything I'd done was going to affect people. With Strictly, apart from Anton's shins, it couldn't affect anything."
Early Life and Education
Born in Bath on 4 October 1947, Widdecombe was the daughter of James Widdecombe, a naval officer, and Rita. She attended a Catholic convent boarding school and studied Latin at Birmingham University before taking a degree in philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She became involved with the Oxford Union, serving as treasurer and secretary.
Personal Life and Legacy
Widdecombe never married and had only one boyfriend, Colin Maltby, at Oxford. She converted to Catholicism in 1993 after the Church of England voted to ordain women priests. She wrote several novels and a memoir, Strictly Ann, and contributed columns to the Daily Express. She lived in a bungalow called Widdecombe's Rest on Dartmoor. She is survived by a niece and two nephews; her brother predeceased her.
